The present invention relates generally to electrical connector devices, and, more particularly, to a new electrical connector adapted to securely splice and electrically connect a conductor cable to a downstream electrical connector without having to pre-cut the cable, and substantially without risk of generating excessive amounts of heat and resistance at the connection point between the exposed conductor wires and device connection elements.
While many types of electrical connectors are known in the art, there does not appear to be any that can provide a safe, reliable and solid connection between the wires of a conductor cable and the connection elements of the device without the generation of significant amounts of resistance and heat. Part of the reason for this is the type of cutting or splicing element utilized by these connectors, which typically do not splice and expose a large enough segment of each conductor wire embedded in the cable insulation, and which do not provide an adequate means for electrically connecting the exposed wires. Overall, these devices seem to require excess manipulation of the exposed wires in order to effect a stable electrical connection.
For example, Wyatt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,723,948, and Hopfe U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,351 disclose electrical connectors capable of being attached to insulated wires. However, these devices do not appear to provide a large enough surface area of connection between the spliced wire and the connection element to avoid the aforementioned problems. A preloaded electrical connector is also described in Rudy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,872. With this device the conductor cable must be exposed or "pre-cut" prior to installation in the connector. Cozzens et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,823 discloses a cam lever connector which also requires that the conductor cable be "pre-cut". A hinged electrical connector which uses finger pressure to close the hinged parts of the connector over the cable is described in Crawford, U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,125.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new electrical connector device which overcomes the foregoing disadvantages of the prior art.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved electrical connector which can safely and reliably splice and connect conductor wires to a downstream electrical connector such as an electrical receptacle, switch, or the like. It is a further object of the invention to provide a new electrical connector which is durable, yet both compact and lightweight.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new electrical connector which can splice a sufficient length of a conductor cable to ensure secure connection between the cable wires and the device connection elements, and avoid the generation of excess resistance and heat at the connection points.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new electrical connector which can splice the conductor wires embedded in a conductor cable of any length, without having to first pre-cut the cable and expose the conductor wires.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a new electrical connector which can correctly splice and connect live wires to a downstream electrical connector.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a new cable splicing mechanism which is readily adaptable for use with a wide range of known electrical connectors to achieve the foregoing advantages of the invention.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new electrical connector for use with "flat" or "ribbon" type conductor elements which achieves the foregoing advantages of the invention.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an efficient, safe, reliable and virtually foolproof electrical connection system utilizing the electrical connector of the invention and a new conductor cable specially adapted for use therewith.
The foregoing specific objects and advantages of the invention are illustrative of those which can be achieved by the present invention and are not intended to be limiting or exhaustive of the possible advantages which can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the invention, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variations which may be apparent to those skilled in the art.